To save the King
by vahanian
Summary: When Charles starts to act strange, Erik and the gang have to figure out whats wrong with him.
1. A nightmare

Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me.

A.N. This is set during First class, Charles can still walk and he and Erik are still friends.

All was quiet in the Xavier Mansion. Anyone with any sense was fast asleep. Most of the inhabitants were sleeping peacefully. All except one.

Charles Xavier tossed and turned in his bed. His dreams were anything but pleasant. In his dream, he was standing shoulder to shoulder with a man, and at his feet lay a huddled person.

"You see Charles." said the man standing next to him, " We are better than the humans, and if you are not with us, then you are against us. With them." he said pointing his finger towards the person on the floor. As if sensing people looking, the person raised its head. Charles gasped slightly. It was Erik.

"Please Charles. You are stronger than him. Don't let him control you." said Erik.

Smiling slowly, Charles raised his hands to his temple and crushed the life out of Erik.

XMFC XMFC XMFC XMFC XMFC

Charles flung his arms out defensively as consciousness came to him quickly.

"Whoa, Charles. Calm down." said a voice to his right. He felt someone grab his hands and force them down.

"Erik?" asked Charles slowly opening his eyes.

"Yeah." said Erik releasing his hands slowly, as if not entirely convinced that Charles was alright.

"What are you doing?" asked Charles in confusion.

"Funny, I was just about to ask you the same thing." said Erik raising his eyebrows slightly.

"What do you mean?" asked Charles sitting up.

"The whole mansion was shaking, but not from an earthquake. When I came out of my room, Raven was banging on your door, but you weren't answering and the door was locked. She told me that when you have a nightmare, you can sometimes lose control of your powers. So I unlocked the door and tried to wake you up. You woke up a few minutes later." explained Erik calmly.

For the first time since he woke up, Charles glanced around his room. His chair was knocked over, his books were scattered around the floor and little cracks had appeared in his window panes.

"If you think that's bad, you should see the rest of the house." Erik said smiling slightly. After a brief pause he asked, " What did you dream of?"

Charles remained quiet.

"Charles, you can poke around in everyone else's head, but I'm not allowed to know your thoughts?" asked Erik.

"I dreamed that I killed you." said Charles so quietly that if Erik wasn't listening hard enough he would have missed it. Erik glanced quickly at Charles as he sat rather dejectedly in his bed.

"Charles." said Erik moving to stand in front of him. He waited until Charles looked up at him before he continued.

"You could never do anything to hurt me." said Erik firmly. "Not that you could anyway. Remember how many times I kicked your butt when we were training the children." Erik said jokingly as he dodged the swipe that Charles aimed at him.

Charles glanced at his clock, and realising that it was five thirty in the morning, he knew he wouldn't get back to sleep. He pushed the bed covers off.

"Let me get dressed, then we can go play chess in the library." said Charles.

"I'll be black." said Erik as he headed for the door.

As soon as the door was closed, Charles sat back down on his bed. He knew that it was just a nightmare, but he still couldn't get the look on Erik's face out of his head. Erik had looked up at him, not with hatred or anger, but with pity. As if he knew how much this would destroy Charles, having to kill his best friend.

"That will not be me." said Charles loudly as he walked into his bathroom to get changed.

Two thousand miles away, Shaw sat next to his telepath Emma Frost. With a satisfied smile, he said, " We shall see, Charles, we shall see."

A.N. Thanks for reading, please let me know what you think.


	2. Attack in the Library

A.N. This chapter alternates between Charles and Erik's point of view, also the words in italics are a memory. None of the characters belong to me.

Charles stepped out of his room and closed the door quietly behind him, so as not to wake the other children. Stopping in the kitchen on his way to the library, he got himself a cup of tea and he got a cup of coffee for Erik. Entering the library slowly so he wouldn't spill any of the contents of the cups, he said, " Erik, you better not have cheated, and don't bother lying, I can tell."

"Don't worry, Erik won't be bothering anyone anymore." said a sneering voice behind him. Charles glanced up sharply and to his confusion he saw the man from his dreams standing in front of him.

"Who are you?" asked Charles setting the two cups down on the table.

"I'm surprised you don't recognise me from the memories in Erik's head." said the man.

"Shaw?" asked Charles.

Shaw dipped his head in acknowledgement and said, "The one and only."

"What have you done with Erik?" said Charles glancing around the room.

"Erik is in a safe place for now, but you should be worrying about yourself." said Shaw mockingly.

"I am going to kill you." said Charles angrily.

Charles put his fingers to his temple and managed to freeze Shaw. He briefly wondered how he was able to do this without Shaw absorbing the power, but before he could think about it properly he turned his attention back to the man in front of him. He knew that he just couldn't kill Shaw, not if he wanted to find Erik alive.

"Everybody." shouted Charles in his mind. " I need you in the library, Shaw has Erik." He felt them all jump out of bed.

" We'll be there in a minute Charles." came Raven's thought.

"Hurry." said Charles as he fought to keep Shaw in place.

The door banged open loudly behind him. As he glanced quickly towards them, his concentration on Shaw was broken. By the time he realised his mistake something had already hit him in the back of the head and he crumbled to the ground.

"Erik!" shouted Raven in surprise as she watched Charles fall to the floor.

"Don't worry he's still alive." said Erik. " I only hit him a little."

"What's going on?" asked Alex in confusion.

"Yeah Erik. Charles said that Shaw was here and that he had you." said Raven as she crouched down next to Charles.

_Erik looked up as the door to the library was pushed open and Charles walked slowly in carrying two cups._

"_Erik you better not have cheated and don't bother lying, I can tell." he heard Charles say._

"_Don't worry Charles, how stupid do I have to be to try and cheat a telepath." said Erik._

_Erik watched as Charles looked up at him sharply._

"_Who are you?" asked Charles._

_Erik looked at him in confusion, not sure if Charles was pulling his leg._

"_It's me Erik." said Erik slowly standing up._

"_Shaw?" asked Charles as if he hadn't even heard Erik._

_Erik glanced around the room, but only saw the two of them._

"_What have you done to Erik?" asked Charles._

" _Charles, nothing has happened to me. I'm standing right here." said Erik as he moved slowly towards Charles._

"_I am going to kill you." said Charles angrily._

_Erik had no time to react before he felt himself unable to move. He struggled uselessly, but it was no good. Until Charles decided to let him go, he was stuck._

_He heard the door behind Charles bang open, and he felt Charles's concentration on him slip. Quickly Erik flung out his hand and threw a metal paper weight at Charles's head, making sure not to hit to hard, so as not to severely injure Charles._

"He thought you were Shaw!" asked Raven in surprise.

"Yeah." said Erik bending down to place his fingers on his neck. "His pulse is elevated." said Erik looking towards Hank who, after Charles, acted as their doctor.

"Lets get him to the infirmary." said Hank.

Erik bent down and scooped up Charles into his arms. He could have easily used his powers to pick Charles up but he felt that he needed the reassurance that Charles was going to be alright. No-one questioned him as he walked out of the room.

Charles awoke to the sound of beeping, and with a slight sigh he realised that he was in the infirmary. Without opening his eyes he knew who sat beside him.

"You know Erik. I'm tired of waking up with you standing over my bed scowling." said Charles.

"I am not scowling!" said Erik indignantly.

"Are you trying to liar to a telepath Erik? Not a good idea, I feel." said Charles chuckling as he opened his eyes. He looked towards Erik who had gone from standing and scowling to sitting and scowling.

"What happened?" asked Charles.

"What do you remember?" asked Erik.

Charles was silent for a moment as he thought.

"Getting a tea and coffee for me and you." he finally said.

"You don't remember coming into the library afterwards?" asked Erik anxiously.

"No. What happened?" asked Charles in a weary voice.

"You thought I was Shaw and tried to kill me."

"What!" shouted Charles as he jumped up out of the bed, causing the wires that were attached to his arms to be pulled out.

"Charles, calm down or Hank will come back and blame me for this." said Erik pushing Charles back down and replacing the wires. " You were talking to me the whole time, but you were convinced I was Shaw." said Erik calmly as he worked.

They were silent for a few moments as Erik finished replacing the wires.

" Charles, that nightmare you had last night. Was Shaw in it?" asked Erik.

"Yes, although I didn't know who he was at the time." replied Charles.

" What did he say to you in your dream?" asked Erik.

"He said that we are better than humans, and that if I wasn't with him, then I was against him. You were there and you told me that I was stronger than him and not to let him control me. I smiled as I killed you?" said Charles with tears in his eyes.

" Charles, we will figure this out." said Erik sitting on the bed next to him. " I will not let him get you."

A.N Thanks for reading, let me know what you think.


	3. Training

A.N. The words in italics are being spoken in Charles's mind. None of the characters belong to me.

It had been at least a few days since the incident in the library. Hank had ran a couple of tests on Charles to make sure that everything was alright, and, apart from an elevated white blood cell count, Hank had released him with a clean bill of health. Charles came into the kitchen and sat down next to Erik.

"Morning Professor." said Sean with his mouth full of cereal.

"Good morning Sean." said Charles before he turned his attention to the whole table. "Hopefully you are all well rested. Erik and I are going to be putting you through your paces today."

There was a chorus of groans and a small smile from Erik.

"Everybody make sure you have your suit on that Hank designed for you. If we are going to fight in them, then we need to train in them as well." said Erik as he looked around the table.

Having finished their breakfast, everyone got up to go and get changed, leaving Erik and Charles alone in the kitchen.

"What is it Erik?" asked Charles without looking at him.

"Can't you just read my mind and tell me." joked Erik.

"I already know." said Charles. "I was just trying to engage you in conversation."

After a couple of minutes, Erik sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Well." he said.

"Well what?" replied Charles.

"Are you going to answer my questions?" answered Erik.

"Which one would you like to know first?" asked Charles.

"Why are you not eating?" asked Erik pointing to the empty space on the table in front of Charles.

"Not hungry." replied Charles. "Next."

"Why are you moving slowly?" queried Erik.

"I'm a little tired." said Charles as he stood up, effectively putting an end to the conversation. "Come on, we better go and get changed or they will all be wondering where we are." he finished.

Erik waited patiently as he watched the children cross the lawn. Charles was walking slowly behind them. To anybody else, it just looked like Charles was keeping an eye on them. But to Erik, he could tell that Charles was walking slowly because he didn't have the energy to move any faster.

As soon as they reached him, he said, "Alright, we are going to do five laps around the mansion. Anyone stops or sits down and they will be doing fifty push ups where they fall. Any questions?" Erik asked. He looked towards Charles. _"If you want to sit this one out, that will be alright." _thought Erik

"_No, thank you Erik. I need to do this."_ replied Charles's voice in his head.

With a slight nod of his head to let Charles know he had heard him, he said, "Everybody get going."

For the first two laps, Erik had ran at the back of the group. He said it was because he was looking to make sure that nobody stopped or sat down, but the real reason was because he wanted to run next to Charles to keep an eye on him. They ran in silence with Erik glancing over at Charles every few minutes to make sure he was alright.

"Erik, I'm fine, stop worrying." said Charles suddenly.

"You don't look to good." said Erik.

"It's because I'm out of shape." replied Charles with a small smile.

Before Erik could replied, they turned a corner and saw Sean and Alex sat down on a step. They both jumped up guiltily when they saw Erik and Charles.

"I do believe you owe me fifty push ups gentlemen." said Erik with a massive grin as if he had just been told that Christmas was going to come early this year.

"You carry on Charles. This could take a while." said Erik.

Laughing under his breath at the looks on Sean and Alex's faces, Charles ran on ahead.

An hour later and Erik watched proudly as the group of children finished their final lap and collapsed down in the grass.

"Well done everyone." said Erik looking down at them. Looking round the group, Erik realised that Charles wasn't with them, and that he hadn't seen him since the second lap.

"Has anyone seen Charles?" asked Erik loudly.

The group looked around them as if half expecting him to jump out from behind a statue and shout "Boo."

"When was the last time anyone saw him?" asked Erik panicking slightly.

"When you made us do our push ups." said Alex.

"That was over an hour ago." said Erik. "Alright, Raven and Hank, you search the grounds to the east, Sean, Alex you search the grounds to the west."

"What about you?" asked Raven.

"I'll search the house. If you find him, Sean scream to let me know." said Erik as he moved towards the house.

As he entered the house, Erik marvelled at how quiet it was. Thinking that perhaps Charles went to lie down, Erik headed towards the bedrooms. When he pushed open the door, Erik looked around in shock at the mess that Charles's bedroom had become. Everything had been pulled out of the cupboards and wardrobe. The few pictures Charles had were smashed on the floor. Just as Erik stepped into the room, a small voice sounded in his head.

"Erik."

Erik froze, not entirely sure that he hadn't just imagined the voice.

"Erik." came the voice again.

"Charles?" asked Erik in confusion. "Where are you?"

"Roof." came the reply.

"Wait there." replied Erik, and without another word Erik tore out of the room and ran for the roof.

When Erik got to the roof, he pushed open the door slowly.

"Charles, are you here?" asked Erik in a quiet voice.

"Erik?" came Charles's voice, it took a second for Erik to realise that Charles had spoken out loud and not in his head, so he followed the sound. When he found Charles, he stopped motionless. Charles was standing up on the ledge, dangling precariously close to the edge. Only one of his hands was closed around something to hold on to.

"Charles, what are you doing?" asked Erik.

Charles didn't even look around as he replied, " I have to go."

"Go where?" asked Erik in bewilderment.

" To him." replied Charles swaying back and forth slightly.

Erik jumped somewhat as he heard Sean scream, and he knew that the rest of the team would only be moments away from coming up. He watched anxiously as Charles's grip on the wall loosened.

"Charles, who is he?" asked Erik, as he started to make his way to the ledge.

"Shaw. I have to go to him." replied Charles in a dreamlike voice.

Erik held out his hand behind him to stop the others from shouting or running to Charles and scaring him.

" How are you going to get to him?" asked Erik moving forward again.

Charles turned to look at him, and, smiling, he stepped off the ledge into nothing.

A.N. Let me know what you think.


	4. Losing Charles

A.N. I'm not making any money on this.

"No!" shouted Erik as he ran the rest of the way to the wall. He heard several shouts and screams behind him, but he paid them no attention. His mind was fixed on his best friend, who was falling to his death in front of him. Erik thrust out his arm and felt the familiar pull of metal and he grabbed on to it. He pulled with all his might, silently thanking Hank for putting metal into their suits. He looked over the wall as Charles started to float back up towards them. He lifted him effortlessly over the wall and placed him gently on the ground. Kneeling down quickly next to him, Erik examined him swiftly.

"He's just unconscious, but I think we should take him to the infirmary, and quickly before he wakes up." said Erik picking Charles up.

Half an hour later saw them all in the lab sitting around Hanks computer.

"I don't really understand what's going on." began Hank. "But it looks as if the Professor is trying to fight off an infection."

"Yeah an infection named Shaw." said Raven.

"I think that Shaw is somehow controlling Charles." Said Erik thoughtfully.

"Very good Erik. I thought it would take you much longer to figure it out." said a voice behind them.

They spun around to find Shaw standing there smiling at them. Beside him stood Azazel , and slung over his shoulder was Charles, who was still unconscious.

"Let him go." said Erik angrily as several metal instruments started to float up into the air.

"Now, now Erik. Don't be foolish." said Shaw speaking as if he was scolding a child. " I can just absorb your power and would you really want to risk hitting Charles?"

Erik looked at Shaw. Yes he could probably hit him, but he couldn't risk hitting Charles as well. He lowered the metal to the ground.

"Excellent, much easier to talk, don't you think?" said Shaw rubbing his hands together happily.

"What do you want with him?" asked Erik with a snarl.

"He is by far the strongest telepath I have ever come across, and by using his power against him, it was easy to control him." said Shaw. " So I intend to train him, and use him to take over the world." He finished cheerfully.

"Over my dead body." Shouted Erik charging towards him. He ran a few feet, but before he even got there, he felt himself being thrown back by an invisible force. With angry shouts he heard the rest of the group attacking Shaw, but none of them got any closer than he did, before they too were thrown away.

"We'll be seeing you really soon." Shaw said as Azazel grabbed his arm and they teleported away.

Charles felt himself return to consciousness. He opened his eyes and glanced around. He was in a small room with no windows. Apart from a bulb that gave out virtually no light, the room was empty. He frowned in confusion. The last thing he remembered was running with Erik and then it was a blank.

"Erik?" Charles shouted. "Raven? Anybody?"

"I'm afraid nobody is going to come and save you." Said a voice as the door was pushed open and bright light poured in.

"Shaw! What do you want with me?" Asked Charles.

"I'm going to train you of course. Could you imagine your power used for evil. You don't even realise the magnitude of what you can do. Together we will be unstoppable." Said Shaw.

"You are crazy." Said Charles.

"It has been said." Shaw answered mildly.

"I will never join you." Said Charles defiantly.

"My dear Charles. You act as though you have any say in this. I am going to break you completely , then build you back up in my image. Any who stand in our way, you will kill them. You made just be my most powerful creation." Said Shaw excitedly.

"So your just going to torture me? Is that your plan?" Charles asked.

"There are many forms of torture, both physical and mental." Said Shaw in amusement as he removed his jacket, and rolled up his sleeves. "Lucky for you, I am skilled in both."

Charles screamed out loud as images assaulted his brain.

A.N. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, and I'm sorry if this chapter is short, but the ideas just weren't following. Let me know what you think.


	5. The Battle

Erik paced back and forth angrily. It had been a week since Charles had been taken by Shaw, and they couldn't find hide nor hair of either of them, and Erik knew first hand that if Shaw didn't want to be found then he wouldn't be. Erik also knew first hand what training Shaw was subjecting Charles to. Shaw was nothing if not relentless is his pursuit for perfection and he would have most likely given Charles all his attention since he had arrived.

"Erik, calm down." Said Raven watching calmly as he paced back and forth. "We'll find him."

"Yes, but will we find him in time?" Replied Erik pausing in his pacing to look at the girl.

"The Professor will fight him." Said Sean with such certainty that Erik almost wished he had his faith.

"Shaw will be unyielding." Said Erik as he sat down in a nearby chair. "Nobody would be able to fight that." He finished in a whisper.

"Everyone go and get some rest. We'll resume the search in the morning." Said Raven ushering the children out of the room. Shutting the door quietly behind her, she left Erik alone with his thoughts.

Erik was walking down a corridor. It was silent and cold, but he walked with a sense of purpose. He slowed down as he approached the only door in the corridor. He pushed it open slowly and cautiously peered into the room. He pushed the door the rest of the way open and half ran into the room to the figure huddled in the corner.

"Charles?" Asked Erik as he knelt down next to his friend. "Charles can you here me?" Said Erik.

"You should have left me behind." Said Charles quietly.

"No! Charles, I would never leave you behind. Why would you say that?" Asked Erik in confusion.

"Because I will kill you." Said Charles looking up at Erik for the first time.

Erik recoiled in horror. Charles's eyes and pupils were red and he had a smile on his face.

"Come and save me Erik." Said Charles mockingly.

Erik woke with a start and quickly jumped out of bed. He ran down the hallway to the bedrooms at the end.

"Everyone wake up." Shouted Erik loudly.

"Dude you better be dying." Grumbled Alex as he opened his door.

"I know where Charles is." Said Erik as he began to make his way towards the garden, to where they kept the jet.

"What! How?" Asked Hank in astonishment.

"In a dream. I think Charles was projecting it into my head." Said Erik.

"Wait a minute." Said Raven, " How do we know its not a trap."

"We don't and it most probably is, but this is the first time in a week that we know where they are. We can't lose him." Said Erik.

"Ok, but we are going to need a plan." Said Raven as they got to the jet.

Erik watched as the jet flew away. They had dropped him half a mile away from the building were Charles was being held. He had told them to wait just over the next mountain, as he wanted Shaw to think he had come alone. They would wait for his signal and would come if needed.

The walk to the building wasn't hard and he made the journey relatively quickly. There was no guards, but he hadn't really expected any as Shaw probably wanted him alive. He pushed open the outer door and step into the building. It was the exact replica of the corridor that he had seen in his dream, so he headed to the only door. It was a big room, nothing like he had seen in his dream. It was the same size as a small warehouse. Propping open the door with a piece of metal so that he wouldn't be trapped inside, Erik slowly walked into the room.

"Charles, are you in here?" Asked Erik in a whisper.

"I'm here." Said a voice from behind him. Erik turned around slowly, knowing who it was before he even saw him.

"Shaw." Said Erik angrily.

"Hello Erik. How are you?" Said Shaw cheerfully as if they were talking about the weather, and not about hostages.

"Give me Charles." Replied Erik furiously,

"I don't think Charles wants to go with you." Answered Shaw smugly.

"What have you done to him?" Demanded Erik.

" I helped him reach his full potential. He was weak without me, but together we will rule the world." Said Shaw madly.

"I won't let you have him." Said Erik.

"I don't think that's up to you anymore." Said Shaw pointing behind him.

Erik heard a noise and he spun around.

"Oh no Charles. What has he done to you?" Erik whispered in dismay as he looked at Charles in shock.

He was definatley thinner than he was a week ago, and his face was devoid of any expressions, but the worst thing was his eyes. Where they used to be bright and full of wonder, now they were lifeless and dull and just like in his dreams, they were completely red.

"I shall ask you once Erik. Join us and together we would be unstoppable." Said Shaw.

"I will never join you." Said Erik vehemently.

"Kill him." Said Shaw simply.

Erik quickly felt for the metal in the room and threw it towards Charles.

Charles held out his hand, and the projectiles stopped in midair and he sent them crashing to the floor.

"Charles fight him." Shouted Erik as he threw whatever he could find at Charles. Erik cried out suddenly and fell to his knees as he felt a pounding in his head.

From where he lay on the floor, Erik lifted his head and forced himself to look into Charles's soulless red eyes.

"I forgive you Charles." Said Erik. "You're my best friend. Thank you for believing in me." As the pain became to unbearable Erik slipped into unconsciousness.

Charles looked down on the man in triumph. He had been planning for this moment ever since his boss had finished training him. Shaw had said that killing the man would be the last step needed to complete his training, and he was impatient for it to be done. Charles watched as the man lifted his head and looked him in the eye.

"I forgive you Charles. Your my best friend, thank you for believing in me." Said the man as his head fell on to the floor unconscious.

Charles gasped at the few fleeting memories that had past through the man's brain before he had collapsed.

"Erik. His name is Erik." Said Charles in surprise that he had forgotten him. He gasped again as image upon image forced its way into his head. Raven, the children, training, pulling Erik out of the sea, making friends, having a family at last, and Erik was like a brother to him and who Charles wanted to help and protect more than anyone in the world, and who had just died by his hand.

Charles fell to his knees and grabbed Erik's hand tightly. He screamed out in anger, rage, frustation and guilt. He screamed until the walls of the building shook. He felt his mind encircling those that were left in the building and squeezing their heads until they fell to the floor dead. He screamed until the building came crashing down around him.


	6. The End

Charles awoke to voices talking quietly.

"Seventeen people dead, but we couldn't find him amongst the dead bodies or the rubble. It's as if he just vanished." Said the voice.

"Azazel probably teleported him out." Said another voice.

Charles listened silently, trying to tell if Shaw was among the group. He felt angry at himself for getting caught so easily again. He could tell by the jerky movements of the room that he was on a plane, and by using his telepathy he could tell that there were five people, besides him, on board.

Charles knew that he needed to escape back to the warehouse. He needed to see if Erik was still alive. He knew that he was lying down and was held by a Velcro strap going across his middle.

"I need a distraction." Thought Charles. He focused his thoughts on the pilot and grinned slightly when he felt him slump over the controls asleep.

"Hank?" Said the voices as the plane started to dip.

Charles ripped the strap off and jumping up he headed to the plane door.

Erik watched in confusion as Hank fell forward in his seat, clearly asleep.

"Hank?" Said Raven as she started to undo her seat belts.

"No keep them on." Shouted Erik as the plane began to dip. He jumped slightly when he heard a bang behind him. Looking around he saw Charles making his way towards the exit door. He quickly took off his seat belts and using his powers to anchor himself to the floor, he made his way over to Charles.

"Charles, what are you doing?" Shouted Erik.

"I have to go back." Said Charles in desperation. "I have to get his body back at least."

Erik watched in growing alarm as Charles laid his hand on the door release.

"Whose body do you mean?" Asked Erik wondering if Charles was still under Shaw's influence.

"Erik's." He put so much emotion into that one word, that Erik took a hesitant step towards him.

"Charles, I'm right here. You could never hurt me. In fact, after you realised what you had done, and you were destroying the building, you used your powers to put a force field up around us. You saved us. You saved me." Said Erik. "Charles please."

Charles slowly released his hold on the pilot, who he know realised was Hank. He felt the plane twist and turn as Hank struggled to right the it. He shouted out in surprise as he felt himself thrown off his feet as the plane twisted upside down. He shut his eyes as he crashed towards the ceiling. Having felt no impact, Charles opened his eyes in confusion and turned to look behind him. Erik had his arm outstretched and was pulling Charles back up towards him. When he reached him he felt Erik wrap his arms and legs around him, and using his fingertips , he locked them both to the roof using his powers.

Once the plane had righted itself, Erik floated him and Charles back down to the floor.

"Charles are you alright?" Said Erik as he knelt down beside him. Charles turned his head away and refused to look at him.

"Charles, look at me." Said Erik firmly. He waited patiently for Charles to look at him before he continued.

"It was not your fault." Said Erik making sure he spoke clearly so that Charles could hear him..

"You were tortured for a whole week, nobody could have held out that long, and I should know." Said Erik lowering his voice so that no one else could hear them.

Erik watched as Charles started to cry silently. He pulled him close and held him. Erik knew that Charles would ask about the seventeen men that he had killed. He knew that Charles would feel guilty and most likely have nightmares for a few weeks after this. But Erik would always be there by his side, because just like when he played chess he would always save his king.

A.N. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read my story and review it. It was much appreciated.


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